My Story, Part 2

My decision to begin training for a triathlon was fueled by more than my extra 40 pounds and what I called my "fat-boy pants." I was also diagnosed as "mildly clinically depressed."  Those were the exact words.  Because of this diagnosis, a few people who were in my life at the time began begging me to see a doctor and get on depression medication.  Ironically, the one who was most vocal about this was on a couple of depression medications that were not working for her.  Though I do believe that these medications can be beneficial, I knew they were not for me. I wanted to try something different; I wanted to tri! So, with these motivating factors, I began training in January of 2009 for my first triathlon.

My training started slowly.  I swam as far as I could three times a week, which--despite my swimming background--was only about 300-500 meters to start.  Being winter time in Utah, my bike work-outs consisted of a half hour on the stationary bike.  My runs were the most pathetic; after walking one lap on the (short) indoor track (6 laps equals 1 mile), I would alternate between jogging slowly and walking for 30 seconds each, repeating that 10 times. This is where I started in January 2009.

My work outs increased in both duration and intensity.  These increases were much greater and quicker in the pool and on the bike than they were on the run, but I made the appropriate increases in running, as well. I had to; I had signed up to compete in my fitst triathlon on the 28th of March.  With only 3 months to train, I wanted to be ready to finish the 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K (3.1 mile) run of the Icebreaker sprint distance triathlon.

To be continued...